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This page was created to demonstrate the step by step process of the East Coast Custom Faux Finishing, LLC business card.

These are copies of the front and back of the card.

Be sure to take the time to browse our entire site there are a wide range of other projects photographed that showcase our diversity, talent and flexibility.

Below is the marble on the rear of the business card.

a-1~Good working habits and consistency are essential so all work is begun on a solid, opaque base coat to insure a professionally finished look.

a-2~In the second step a lighter and cooler color is brushed on then its edges are worked back and forth with a damp rag for style and affect. This is more of a sketching process, used to map out what will go in the different areas. Some of the best finishes require a subtle start.

a-3, a-4, a-5~A medium value grey, about two shades darker, but cooler than the base is brushed on then sculpted with specifically bunched up rags to create a broken glass or quartz texture. Note the Styrofoam mixing trey....I eat a lot of take out.

a-6~To create depth, darker areas are added. These are similar to the veins that will be added later. The borders of these areas are then molded with a damp rag to achieve a specific look and form. The crackle sample in the upper right from another set of samples/ideas, I am always tinkering with something.

a-7~Here the sienna tinted glaze has been brushed on then worked with rags. This is used to create depth with some warmth to oppose the cooler areas.

a-8~In this stage a half paste is created then brushed on. This is then lifted off with a very specific bunching and sweeping motion of the rag. A half paste is something that has been used since the days of the classical oil painters. It is essentially how it sounds, a thick glaze, usually employed with a reductive method-brushed on to be lifted off in a specific manor.

a-9~The reductive process in action. You can see the finished effects of this half-paste in the lower right corner of a-9.

a-10~The finished foundation, before the veins and cracking effects are added.

a-11~Feathers have been used for ages because of their ability to hold large amounts of paint (in liquid form) and distribute it evenly if desired or if wanted with the turn and twist of the feather dispersing the colors in a calligraphic style. A stick, or what is sometimes called a “malstick” is used to steady the hand as it is slowly and deliberately hovered over the working surface.

a-12, a-13~The details are filled in with a Rigger or Liner brush. These have very long, thin bristles. The best of these brushes have firm bristles for steady, highly controlled lines.

Below is the marble at the top front of the card.

b-1~This one was begun, for a change, on a fresh piece of sanded masonite. As opposed to many of the other hundreds of boards that are continually sanded and repainted with samples for each new job. In this case a flat paint was used as a base to achieve a different effect than the low sheen seen above.

b-2~All of the colors are specifically tinted and planned out ahead of time leaving very little to chance. Randomness is not an option when performing multi-layerd work of this nature. I have stacks of frozen food containers....I eat a great deal of frozen diners.

b-3~A specially tinted glaze is brushed on then worked in a reductive technique to create a quartz-like textured effect. This is intentionally much darker than the finished look because of all of the lighter translucent layers I plan on putting over it.

b-4~Additional layers of glaze are applied then worked back and forth to create specific looks. Here you can see a different type of rag was used than the above marble effect. Working over the flat base requires a rougher, more aggressive manipulation of the glazes. I have a full range of fabric bolts from 100% synthetic to all natural cottons and wools. It is always important to be prepared and well versed in as many working materials as possible.

b-5~The first of the lighter layers, A half paste is applied, in addition to a higher value (lighter) it is also much cooler to give more of a three dimensional effect. As the upper layers of glaze are applied the surface becomes more toolable so thinner, more synthetic rags are use giving more control over creating subtleties in the texture.

b-7~In the upper left a sketch can be seen that I had made ahead of time to test out the different layers and how they react to one another. The veins are placed in the composition with a series of feathers, here an alkyd (or oil) glaze is used to give a slower drying time because once the lines are put in they are worked back and forth with rags to create a three dimensional effect thus “creating” cracks.

b-6~More lights are added as well as darks to give character to the empty areas.

Below is the orange and yellow band behind the ECCFF logo.

c-1~Here I am mixing up the precise color of crackle paste using several dry pigments. This is just one of the techniques that can achieve a cracked or age effect. Brushing on two different layers of colors with two different drying times is the most common but several samples were made and due to the size and the extreme horizontal lay out of the business card these more linear looking crackling effects were nat as appealing.

c-2~Spreading on the tinted crackle paste.

c-3~Once dry the paste changes color considerably.

c-4~A bright orange base coat is brushed on the non-crackle area for the logo to create a foundation for the upper areas.

c-5~After a more select orange is brushed over the darker foundation and dry-brushed to blend into the crackle area. Then a yellow glaze is brushed on then reduced with a reductive process similar to the quartz effects in the above marbles. This look was chosen as a stylistic representation of the Arizona sun.

c-6~Ready to be photographed....the logo lettering is done in PhotoShop. It simply is not worth my time to perform the lettering, so what I cant do I leave to the pros.

Before you leave be sure to browse our full site including past work photos, sample boards, reviews from past clients and company history and information.

All photos on this site are from previous work and are protected by copyright laws.

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